Nashville goes mondo condo

Local real estate experts say there are many reasons why condominiums, in all their various shapes and sizes, showed significant sales growth during the past year.

Reports from the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors show that condo sales grew by 18 percent during the past year, with sales in August actually 50 percent higher than the same month a year ago. Even during a record-setting year of residential home sales such as this one, those numbers stand out.

Sales have been increasing over the past several years. From September 2000 to August 2001, for example, there were 2,119 condos sold. From September 2004 to August 2005, that number almost doubled to 3,875.

Part of the reason may be pent-up demand for dwellings that are newer and more like a